Pubdate: Sat, 06 Oct 2001 Source: Seattle Times (WA) Copyright: 2001 The Seattle Times Company Contact: http://www.seattletimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409 Author: Matt Warning Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?203 (Terrorism) TALIBAN, PARTNER IN WAR While the Taliban regime merits no defense and its harboring of Osama bin Laden is unconscionable, your piece on Afghanistan ("Understanding the Crisis: Afghanistan," Times, Sept. 30) would have benefited from more careful editing. "The Poppy Connection" section suggests that the Taliban are supporting opium production in their country. If I'm not mistaken, satellite imagery, overflights and U.N. reports indicate that the Taliban have had the greatest success of all South-Asian governments in reducing opium-poppy production in their territory. The Taliban are one of our more aggressive partners in our other ill-defined war, the "war on drugs." - - Matt Warning, Seattle - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl